Dirigible airship.



B. BCHER. n

DIR'IGIBLB AIRSHIP.

y APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1910.

Patented May 28, '1912.

y mi.

i UNITED STATES 'PATENT ."oFFIcE.

l Improved Diri'gible Airship,

l V1o sanar suenan, or HEIDELBERG, GERMANY.

DIBIGLBLE nasal?.

To all t Be it known that I, ERNST Bodmin, op-

ticien, a subject of the Kin of Wurttemberg, residing Aat 1 Neue chloss strasse, Heidelberg, Grand VDukedom of Baden, Germany, have invented a ,new and useful of Awhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a dirigible airship, ,especially suitable 'for sporting purposes the novelty of'which consists in the combination of the peculiarities of airships and kites due to its special lens-shape, and therefore combines the advantages obtaining in both these devices. These advantages consist firstly iny the lens-shape ofthe bal-- loon body'so that it has a great supporting capacity,'a'nd therefore acts also as' an aeroplane during fast travel. Further the, lensshape of the balloon body permits it to cut the air in all directions whereby side steering is considerably facilitated; side currents of airI can be easil overcome, the vehicle has the capacity o turning around on its own axis and on account of its round form it lrequires the smallest space for landin as vcompared `with any other- .dirigible airs p.

Another advantage connected with this f new airship is the arrangement of additional screws atthe side of the balloon body as well as the screw on the car, such additional screws being adapted to be worked in either a horizontal or vertical position to permit, respectively the horizontal propulsion of the vehicle, or the steering the latter ,up or down.

' In order.

that this invention may be the better understood, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawing and show by way of .A example d1agrammatically how this new airship may be constructed.

of the airship and shown in the drawing, the rigid skeleton- 1 of the airship has the form of a lens with iattened or cut-oif sides. p From this rigid frame is suspended another frame 3 to the *shape of the car is attached. vThe frame 3 is connected byrigid stays li'to the framework of theV airship so that the car is only a very small distance from the body of the balloon. The rigid frame 1 -is provided in'its interior with four fiat gas chambers constructed according so that they ac t as lift-ing specification of Letters Patent. f lPatenfmi May 28,1912,

Y Application filed June 3, 1910. Serial No. '564,810.: f

5, 6., 7 ,and 8 whichy keep the load of the veh1cleaoat,so that the screws have only to effect the propulsion, or respectively the f raising land, lowering of the airship. At the front ofthe frame 2 is provided a horizontal screw 9 whichin known manner serves for the propulsion of the airship. On each of the flattened sides of the airship there is arranged another screw 10, 11 respectively, l

1n sucha manner that the same maybe placed horizontally as Well as vertically. These screws are driven by flexible axles, cardan couplings or the like 12 and may be used for propulsion of the vehicle as also for raising, lowering and side steering` it. Otherwise the steering p of the balloon is effected in known manner by vertical `and horizontal planes 13 and 14.5 respectively,` provided at the rear end, which are operated from the car through .wires 15. In order to assist the rear elevating rudder, the horizontal plane 16 is arranged at the front' -end ofthe balloon and is also operated by The charge'of the balloon 1s calculated sol that its lifting force equals' the weight of the vehicle, or slightly exceeds the saine to provide for subsequent losses of gas. If it 1s now desired that the balloon should rise, the. side screws are first placed vertically screws and raise the car in a more or less rising path according rudders. When the desired height has been to the rate of revolution of? the car screw and the adjustment of` the elevatingattained, the side screws are disengaged and after corresponding adjustment of the elevating rudders they are put into a horizontal plane in which they assist in horizontal propulsion. For side steering which is easily efected the usual vertical planes at the rearl end are generally used, but this operation may be supported by the single runningof one of the side screws.

It will be obvious that airships according to the present invention are not designed for the carrying of great loads, but are especially useful for sporting purposes and for short journeys, for which purpose it may suitably be constructed to carry about four persons.

I claim:

An airship comprising in combination, a lens-shaped balloon plane terminating -in a sharp outer edge extending completely around the balloon plane, propulsion devices alined Wit-h and at the s1de edges of said plane, a vertically movable steering plane on a line with the frontedge of said balloon 5 glane, a horizontally movable steering rudil er at the rear of said balloon'plan'e, and vertically movable, steering planes at the rear of and on a line with the edge of said balloon plane, said planes being on opposite sides of said rear steern lane.

ERl T BCHER. Witnesses:

ERNEST L. IvEs, W. W. J., GUNROT. 

